An architectural rendering of an aerial view of the overhauled North Building of the Denver Art Museum. The museum bet big on the nearly $1 billion city of Denver general obligation bond issue, promising to begin construction on the overhaul of the Gio Ponti-designed wing two weeks after the Nov. 7, 2017, election.

Several major cultural, park and transportation projects will be among the first to receive money as the city launches work on the massive $937 million bond package approved last fall by voters.

An initial project list released Tuesday — detailing how the city will spend the first $193.1 million it’s proposing to borrow — also includes money for design and planning work that will flesh out 30 future projects, including the widening of East 56th Avenue and the reconstruction of North Washington Street.

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About 57 percent of the initial project list’s funding will go toward Denver Health’s new outpatient center and several cultural facilities and organizations, in large part because those projects are ready to go and have other money lined up. But those groups won’t receive the entirety of their earmarks up front, making room for projects such as a renovation of Paco Sanchez Park.

“These first projects will provide the foundation for the next several years of much-needed improvements in neighborhoods across Denver,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a news release. “This is a balanced proposal, and we are excited to get to work on making these critical investments in our city.”

A look at the projects that will receive money in the first round:

$65 million for cultural facilities

Several cultural organizations will receive the first portions of the bond package’s promised contributions toward their projects: $25 million for the Denver Art Museum’s North Building renovation; $12 million for the Denver Botanic Gardens’ new Freyer-Newman Center for science, art and education; $11 million for deferred maintenance at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science; $10 million for the Denver Zoo’s new animal hospital; and $6 million for upgrades to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Bonfils Theatre Complex.

The final $1 million in this category will go toward design work for upgrades to Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Buell Theatre.

Provided by the city of Denver

A rendering of the Outpatient Medical Center planned for Denver Health Medical Center’s campus northwest of Sixth Avenue and Broadway.

$45 million for Denver Health facility

The largest, single project amount in the first round will go to the Denver Health and Hospital Authority’s new Outpatient Medical Center project, which ultimately will receive $75 million — about half its cost — from the bond package.

$41.2 million for transportation projects

The bond package’s largest overall category (at $431 million) is overshadowed in the first round by cultural projects, but funding is included to start construction on several key projects: $15 million for a boost in citywide street paving, nearly $7.8 million for sidewalks and fixes to curbs and gutters, $4 million for bike lanes. Another $2 million will help finish up design and begin construction on a pedestrian/bike bridge over an at-grade railroad crossing near East 47th Avenue and York Street, just blocks from Swansea Elementary.

Provided by the city of Denver

A rendering shows how East Colfax Avenue would change at North Krameria Street with the introduction of center-running dedicated bus lanes in a bus rapid transit system.

Contributions for design work include the Colfax Avenue bus-rapid transit project ($1.5 million), the East 56th Avenue project between Peoria Street and Peña Boulevard ($600,000) and the Washington Street project between East 47th and East 52nd avenues ($1.5 million).

$30.5 million for parks and recreation

Paco Sanchez Park is set to receive $6.6 million to pay for the final stage of the “Re-Imagine Play” project, while $5 million will kick off construction on a river promenade in the River North Art District along Arkins Court. The rest of the money will pay for design work on projects at recreation centers, public pools and several parks, with some of those also budgeted for construction (including a new City Park playground and tennis courts at Bear Valley Park).

Provided by Denver Parks and Recreation

At Paco Sanchez Park in west Denver, plans for the “Re-imagine Play” project call for new kinds of playground equipment and a walking path spread throughout the park, along with a community plaza.

Not included in the first round, however, is the biggest-ticket parks project: a new recreation center in Westwood, which is expected to cost $37.5 million.

$6.1 million for public safety and other city facilities

The Denver County jail on Smith Road will receive $1.5 million for improvements, while $3.2 million is budgeted for deferred maintenance and upgrades at police and fire stations. The rest will go toward accessibility projects and deferred maintenance at other city buildings.

$5.3 million for libraries

Several library branches are set for renovations in the bond package, but the first round includes only design work for four of them. The Central Library is budgeted for $4 million, and the rest is split between the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library and the Byers and Smiley branches.

What happens next?

The City Council on Tuesday afternoon began considering the first issuance of bonds. Approval is expected in coming weeks.

“It’s good to see the voters’ decisions being put into play,” Councilman Kevin Flynn said during a committee meeting.

The new debt — which isn’t expected to increase property tax rates — is part of a larger $270 million general obligation bond proposal that also includes the reissuing of past bonds at a lower interest rate.

Roughly 460 projects are planned as part of the decade-long building program, which will include several debt issuances. City officials expect to issue the next set of bonds next year, and Councilwoman Robin Kniech said she wanted to see more progress by then on long-discussed city efforts to start local hiring and training programs for the bond projects and several other large city construction projects.

The city has raised the possibility of repeating, at some point, past mini-bond programs that allowed residents to buy bonds at $500 each.

The bond program is not expected to increase tax rates, officials have said. But rising property valuations across Denver have pushed the tax bills of homeowners higher in recent years, and that trend isn’t expected to change.

Denver released this list of projects that will receive initial bond issuance funding:

Here is the full list of major projects and categories in the 2017 bond package:

Jon Murray is an enterprise reporter on The Denver Post's government and politics team, with a focus on transportation. He previously covered Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and city government. A Colorado native, he joined The Denver Post in 2014 after reporting on city government and the legal system for The Indianapolis Star.

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